Minister Ong Ye Kung visits Duke University | MEDICUS 2023 Issue 4

Minister Ong Ye Kung visits Duke University

By Nicole Lim, Senior editor

The Singapore delegation led by Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung on their visit to Duke-NUS’ parent university, Duke // Credit: Chris Hildreth, Rooster Media

Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung led a delegation from the Ministry of Health, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Duke-NUS Medical School on a visit to Duke University on 18 September for a full day of meetings with leadership, faculty and students as well as a visit of the Duke Outpatient Clinic.

The visit was also a reaffirmation of the nearly two-decade-long Duke-NUS partnership.

“We have a strong partnership with [Duke] University, through the Duke-NUS project, which has graduated over ten batches of doctors. What is special about Duke-NUS is that many of the doctors are also concurrently doing research,” Minister Ong wrote in a Facebook post, adding that during his visit, “we discussed many issues of common interest - including our partnership, precision medicine and cost-effective healthcare.”

These focused talks with leading Duke faculty also included discussions on data science; population health, health services research and knowledge translation; and accountable care.

Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung addresses his Duke University hosts // Credit: Chris Hildreth/Rooster Media

Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung addresses his Duke University hosts // Credit: Chris Hildreth, Rooster Media

Duke University President Professor Vincent Price addresses the Singapore delegation on their recent visit // Credit: Chris Hildreth/Rooster Media

Duke University President Professor Vincent Price addresses the Singapore delegation on their recent visit // Credit: Chris Hildreth, Rooster Media

Duke, NUS, and the Singapore government collaborated to open the research-intensive graduate-entry medical school in Singapore in 2005, with a curriculum designed to develop an exceptional pool of leaders and creative thinkers who would push the boundaries of medicine.

Duke University President Professor Vincent Price said: “We are very proud of this partnership and the many ways Duke-NUS Medical School has advanced medical education and research in Asia and beyond.”

Since its inception, Duke-NUS has grown and expanded into a comprehensive academic medical institution conducting advanced biomedical research, educating health care leaders, and advancing patient care through an academic medicine collaboration with SingHealth, Singapore’s largest public healthcare cluster that includes a network of hospitals and specialist clinics.

“Over the last 18 years, we have witnessed the maturation of a true academic medical centre in Singapore through engagement with Duke and Duke faculty to the extent that partnership opportunities are now available in such areas as pandemic preparedness, global health, neuroscience, ageing and others, and they span from basic to translational to clinical research and education,” said Professor Edward Buckley, Vice-Dean for Education in the School of Medicine and Vice-Chancellor for Duke-NUS Affairs.

Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung (seated, second from right) poses for a group shot with his hosts, Duke University President Professor Vincent Price (seated, second from left) and Duke School of Medicine Dean Professor Mary Klotman (seated, left), and the Singapore delegation, which included Duke-NUS Governing Board Chairman Mr Goh Yew Lin (seated, right), Dean Professor Thomas Coffman (standing second row, second from left) and NUS Provost Professor Aaron Thean (standing first row, sixth from right) // Credit: Chris Hildreth, Rooster Media

Minister Ong and the delegation met with Duke leaders including President Price; Provost Professor Alec Gallimore; Executive Vice-President for Health Affairs and Duke University School of Medicine Dean Professor Mary Klotman; NUS Provost and Deputy President for Academic Affairs Professor Aaron Thean as well as Duke-NUS Governing Board Chairman Mr Goh Yew Lin and Dean Professor Thomas Coffman. Thean, Klotman and Buckley also serve on the Duke-NUS Governing Board.

“We are very proud of this partnership and the many ways Duke-NUS Medical School has advanced medical education and research in Asia and beyond.”
Professor Vincent Price

“The Duke-NUS collaboration has been built on solid foundations, beginning with the formation of Singapore’s first graduate-entry medical school in 2005,” said Goh. “This partnership has deepened steadily across education, research and innovation, resulting in the remarkable achievements that we celebrate today, with much more to come in the years ahead.”

In addition, Professor Lawrence Greenblatt and Associate Professor Alex Han Cho gave the group an overview of the outpatient clinic operations, and the visitors also enjoyed a Carolina barbecue lunch and an informal gathering with Duke and Duke-NUS undergraduate and graduate students.

“The partnership with Duke-NUS and our Singaporean colleagues enhances and expands the research impact of both institutions and provides invaluable opportunities for our faculty, students and trainees, all in the service of our global community,” Klotman said. “I look forward to continuing this exceptional collaboration for a long time to come.”

NUS Provost Professor Aaron Thean (left) together with National Medical Research Council Executive Director Professor Tan Say Beng (third from left) meets with Singaporean students in Durham // Credit: Chris Hildreth, Rooster Media

Echoing her sentiments, NUS’ Thean added: “With the strong support of the Singapore’s government and a like-minded partner in Duke University, our collaboration has grown from strength to strength, creating a unique opportunity for students and faculty alike to contribute to Singapore’s biomedical ecosystem.”

Some of the Duke-NUS third-year medical students who are currently completing their research projects at Duke, also had a chance to interact with Minister Ong and the delegation from Singapore.

Ms Teo Kaye Min (left) and Mr Liow Yuh Yiing (second from right) are among a group of Singaporean students who met with Minister Ong during his visit to Duke University // Credit: Chris Hildreth, Rooster Media

Ms Teo Kaye Min, whose research focuses on self-management in patients with poorly controlled diabetes and high blood pressure, said that she and her classmates had the chance to tell the delegation more about the research they are pursuing and the benefits an overseas experience like this offers.

Expanding on the benefits of their Duke posting, her classmate, Mr Liow Yuh Yiing, added: “Many of us intend to do clinical electives at Duke to broaden our horizons and see how healthcare is practiced elsewhere.”

question-mark

Have a question? Send it in and it may be answered in the next issue of MEDICUS!

ASK MEDICUS

The students also shared their views on the ongoing transformation of Singapore’s healthcare system with Minister Ong. “We chatted about how our healthcare systems needs to focus on preventive health and improving the health of Singaporeans,” said Liow, who is working with Professor Brad Kolls from Duke Hospital on developing a handheld device to detect a bleed in the brain.

Duke-NUS third-year student Mr Liow Yuh Yiing meets Minister Ong during the reception // Credit: Chris Hildreth/Rooster Media

Duke-NUS third-year student Mr Liow Yuh Yiing meets Minister Ong during the reception // Credit: Chris Hildreth, Rooster Media

Duke-NUS’ Coffman said, “The world is faced with complex healthcare challenges requiring multidisciplinary approaches extending well beyond traditional medical fields along with global collaborations built on trust. At Duke-NUS, we train clinicians whose diverse, global perspectives enhance their accomplishments as learners, researchers and innovators, leading to better care for patients here in Singapore and around the world.”

Adapted from ‘Singapore Health Minister’s Visit Highlights Duke-NUS Partnership’ by Dave Hart, Editorial Director, Duke School of Medicine. Additional reporting and editing by Nicole Lim, Senior Editor